Hot MedFax

Ever since Michael Douglas told the world he got oral cancer from oral, well, you know, that's what people think when others develop this kind of cancer. But that's not entirely true.  Did you know that byproducts from bacteria  in the form of small fatty acids from two bacteria prevalent in gum disease also incite the growth of deadly Kaposi’s sarcoma-related (KS) lesions and tumors in the mouth? According to newswise.com, recent research has  focused on how certain bacteria, which are associated with gum disease, contribute to cancer formation. Experts  said at newswise.com that high levels of these bacteria are found in the saliva of people with periodontal disease, and at lower levels in those with good oral health—further evidence of the link between oral and overall physical health. KS, which often attacks persons with HIV, first appears as lesions on the surface of the mouth that, if not removed, can grow into malignant tumors. Survival rates are hig...

What's your take?  Are you vaccinating your 12-year-old for HPV? As we all know, HPV is the human papillomavirus and it causes cervical cancer in girls, along with other cancers.  It makes me uneasy, as I'm sure it does others, to think of my son having sex -- it seems 'way too early to be worried about this -- but I've made arrangements for him to have the vaccine. I became a teenager and young adult in the '70's, when everyone was having sex, all the time, in just about any place, with just about anyone.  Thank God, this was before HIV and AIDS.  But somewhere along the way, I got the virus and though it hasn't harmed me in any way, I don't want the same to happen to my son. Both the Centers for Disease Control  (CDC) and Prevention and the American College of Pediatrics now recommend that both girls and boys be vaccinated against HPV, newswise.com reports. Michael Douglas (probably inadvertently) called attention to its ability to cause he...

A new study has found that some cow antibodies may help us in creating new medicines. According to newswise.com, by rearranging and mutating certain genes,  "an animal’s immune system can generate a vast and diverse population of antibodies—which collectively can bind to just about any of the body’s foreign invaders." Antibodies, part of our immune system, protect us from infection.  Researchers have found that cows make unusually long antibodies, and longer antibodies, for some reason, seem to cure some infections.  A study done on patients with HIV discovered that these longer antibodies allowed them "to grab a crucial structure on the virus and thereby neutralize the infectivity of most HIV strains," newswise.com quotes Vaughn V. Smider, assistant professor of cell and molecular biology at TSRI and principal investigator for the study. If I can get put it into English -- and I may not have it exactly right, I must say right up front -- but I believe ...

If you're a man, you might want to take a stiff shot before reading this. But men in Africa are being forced to do much more. That's because some of the new devices being used for circumcision -- heavily promoted to staunch HIV and AIDS -- may be doing more harm than good.  And having people who are not doctors perform the procedure -- another reason these new devices were brought into use -- is adding to the complications risk, even though it is saving the country money.  In the U.S. and other countries, most circumcisions are done at birth. But in Africa, where this is not the custom, it's grown men who are now choosing to have this most painful of surgeries. According to Dave Mayers at smartplanet.com, circumcision can reduce the threat of spreading HIV, or being infected by it, by 60%.  That's why men are even considering it in this country where almost 24 million people live with the virus that causes AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region...